Ch. 15
"I can't tell you," Hershel said, as he and Carol walked down the hall.
It was dark and they were navigating using a flashlight. Everyone had decided to buddy-up and take rooms. They would also take turns guarding the hospital entrance.
For now, Michonne was on guard.
Hershel had chosen a room with Beth and Judith. Glenn stayed with Maggie, and Michonne with Carl and Rick. David and Elena were off in their own room as well. Of course, Carol wanted to be the one to stay with Daryl. She had to find out what they were dealing with first, though.
Carol sighed loudly.
"I know something's wrong. The way he's acting… the things he said. I just want to help him, Hershel. You understand, don't you?"
"If you want to help him try to get him to eat. He's refused food all day. Seems to have been too upset. If you can't get him to eat then David said he can, but I think he might prefer you."
"Alright," Carol agreed. "Is there anything left in the cafeteria?"
"Glenn said there's cans of soup, of all things. And a bunch of rice and tea."
Carol nodded.
"Okay, then. I'll go see what I can do."
"Thanks," Hershel told her. "But if it doesn't work out, let me know."
00
Carol showed up at Daryl's room carrying a tray with a bowl of rice and a cup of tea. There had been a surprisingly large selection of beverages to choose from. She chose Chamomile, thinking maybe it would calm him.
"Daryl?" She called out.
There was the sound of sheets rustling.
"Yeah," he answered, softly. "What do ya want?"
"I bought you something to eat and some tea."
"Don't want it."
Carol stepped closer to the bed. Daryl was lying there, staring up at the ceiling. She put the tray down, closed the door, then sat down on a nearby chair.
"I don't know what's wrong with you… what was done to you, but I know it was bad," Carol started, "But you're safe now. We'll keep you safe. Glenn, Carl, Maggie… now we've got David here, too! Everything's going to be fine."
Daryl said nothing, but Carol noticed that he was resting his hand on his stomach.
"Does your stomach hurt?" She asked. He had to be hungry by now. He hadn't eaten all day, and lord knows when he'd had a meal prior to arriving.
Daryl shook his head.
Carol wasn't sure what else to say. She wanted to help him, to make his pain go away. She would've been more than willing to take some of it on herself if she could have.
Eventually, Daryl broke the silence.
"Carol… what was your first time like?"
"My first time?" She questioned. "What do you mean?"
"Your first time… ya know. Being intimate."
"...Oh." She hadn't expected that question, but she trusted Daryl enough to answer it.
"Well, it wasn't particularly glamorous. We were up at one of those scenic overlooks, in Jimmy's old Challenger. We started kissing and he put his hand up my skirt… one thing led to another, and… you know…" she trailed off, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Why?"
"Did you love him?" Daryl avoided her question.
"Well...I thought I did. I was young, though. You know how it is."
"But you liked him, at least." It wasn't a question, more of a statement.
"Yes. Of course I did. Why are you asking?"
"What'd it feel like? To make love, I mean. Not just to fuck. Is it different?"
Now Carol was really confused.
"Daryl, are you sure you're okay?" She reached out to touch his forehead, checking for a fever, but he seemed cool to the touch. "Why are you asking me all of this?"
Daryl closed his eyes and shook his head, not verbally responding.
Then it hit Carol. Obviously, Daryl had been assaulted somehow. Sexually, most likely. The thought of it made her feel dually sick and enraged. How dare that piece of shit lay a hand on her friend?! And to put him in a position where he was forced to submit - she couldn't think of anything more awful, especially for someone like Daryl, who was so tough and independent.
"Carol?" Daryl called out. He noticed that she was breathing heavier, probably thinking about something disturbing.
"Daryl." She replied. "Daryl, so help me god, I'll fucking gut him if he ever steps foot here."
Daryl nodded, and closed his eyes again. Carol noticed that he had taken hold of her hand and was holding it tightly.
00
David had been unable to sleep, so he joined Michonne on watch after putting Elena to bed.
"Michonne," he greeted her, walking over with a baseball bat in hand. He'd found it in the back of the car and decided that it would make a good enough weapon.
The woman didn't bother to acknowledge him. Instead, she continued to pace back and forth, listening, watching for any signs of the Governor or walkers.
After several moments of silence, David spoke again.
"You're pissed," he stated. "About all of this."
Michonne turned to him, looking at him angrily.
"You've put us all in danger."
"I had to get Daryl out!"
"And you put us all at risk! It'll be a miracle if Blake doesn't track us down here, and when he does, then what? What do we do? We'd be out manned and out-gunned! I hope you're happy!"
"What was I supposed to do?" David was shouting now. "Leave Daryl there to die? Leave him to be a slave for the rest of his life? For his child to be a slave? Does that seem fair to you?! Had one of the others been left behind, you could bet your ass he would've turned back for them. You owed him the same."
Michonne looked angry for a split second, but then her expression changed.
"Wait. His child? What do you mean?"
"Fuck," David mumbled. He shouldn't have said that. He'd gotten caught up in the heat of the moment, and had let Daryl's secret out.
"Nothing," he tried to cover. "I didn't mean to say that."
Michonne moved closer to him, pulling out her sword. She held it up to David's neck.
"Tell me the truth."
"Fuck," David said, again. "Alright, fine. Daryl.. He's pregnant. One of those mpregs, the guys with the genetic variation. It was on the news before the outbreak."
Michonne pulled her sword back.
"I remember that."
"Yeah, well, I don't think he wants many people to know about it."
"It'd be hard to hide in a few months. Blake's the father, then?"
"Yeah."
Hearing this, Michonne once again sheathed her katana.
"What, now you don't care that we took him?"
"Him being with child changes things," she answered. "It was still a bad move - we're still fucked, but I understand it better."
David nodded, "Well you ought to keep it to yourself."
Michonne rolled her eyes and went back to pacing.
00
Down the hall, Carl had woken up to find his father in a terrible state. His entire body was shaking, as if he were having a seizure.
"Dad?" Carl asked, doing his best to hold his father's arms. "Dad, what's wrong?!"
Rick didn't - probably couldn't - answer and Carl began to panic. Michonne was gone, so he ran to the closest room possible - Beth's room. She, Hershel and Judith all seemed to be asleep.
"Hershel! Beth! Dad needs help!", Carl called out.
His voice was loud enough to wake the two as well as Judith, who began to cry.
"What happened?" Hershel asked, sitting up. Beth was already standing.
"He's shaking, doesn't seem like he can stop!"
The kid seemed truly frantic, so Hershel and Beth quickly followed him back.
When they arrived, Rick was trembling. It wasn't nearly as violent as it had been previously, but it was still cause for alarm.
"Rick?" Hershel asked, aiming a flashlight at him. "Rick, are you awake?"
The man's eyes were open, but Hershel wasn't sure if he was all there or not.
Rick made a groaning sound as his arms and legs continued to twitch.
"Lllll.." he slurred, eyes totally unfocused.
"Rick, it's alright," Hershel said, trying to calm him. He shined the light in Rick's eyes while Beth and Carl did their best to hold his hands, trying to relax him.
"...Lori," Rick mumbled. "W-why?"
Hershel tried not to show his disappointment. Rather, he focused on Ricks' overall physical condition. He noticed that the man was sweating, and that he had apparently wet the hospital bed.
"Get some water," Hershel instructed.
While Beth ran off to do this, Hershel looked at Carl.
"I'm sorry that you have to help with this son, but it looks like he's having a reaction to the medicine. Do you think you can help me clean him up? My leg isn't exactly conducive to carrying him around…"
Carl, who had at first looked upset, now looked disturbingly calm.
"Yes. It's no problem. There's a shower in the bathroom… It'll be cold, but we can clean him. Maybe Beth can get some new sheets and blankets."
Hershel nodded, then another thought crossed his mind.
"Might be a good idea to see if David's around, actually. He had experience caring for Daryl, he might be better suited to this type of task."
"I don't mind," Carl replied.
It was clear that Hershel preferred David, though. Carl knew that the others were worried about him, worried that he had seen and dealt with too much. It would be easier just to let the old man have this.
"Nevermind. I'll go find him."
"Thank you, son. It's for the best."
00
Beth gave Rick some water. Thankfully, he was able to drink it, and it helped to calm him further. It wasn't long before Carl returned, too, with David it tow.
"Hershel," David said, catching the old man's attention. "Carl says there's a problem?"
"There is. I thought perhaps you'd be of help to me. Rick here seems to have had a reaction to the medicine. It's not that uncommon, but we need to get him cleaned up. Do you think you can help me get him to the shower?"
David glanced at Rick, who was curled on his side, seemingly oblivious to everything going on around him. He kept mumbling something that sounded like 'I'm sorry' over and over again and was staring at the wall.
"Yeah. Shouldn't be too big a problem. Is he going to fight me?"
"I'm not sure." Hershel looked down at Rick, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Rick, son, do you feel up to a shower?"
Rick gazed up at him.
"Shower?"
His hands were still shaking.
"Yes. You seem to have had a bit of an accident - would be best to get you cleaned up."
"Accident," Rick repeated. He looked down at the bed, only now noticing the wet spot. "Oh."
"It's alright, it's just from the medicine, hopefully it'll stop in a few days. David can help you clean up though, and Beth will make up a new bed for you."
Rick nodded in agreement, then looked at David. For a split second, it seemed like he was lucid once again.
But, then he spoke.
"Yes. Please," he answered. "Lori wouldn't like that. This, I mean. She'll be upset."
David sighed. Maybe for now it would just be better to play into the man's fantasies, at least until the meds started working.
"Let's go get you cleaned up for Lori then," the young man said, holding out his hand. "You gonna stay with me?"
"Mhmm," Rick responded.
He calmly allowed Carl to unlock his restraints and gratefully accepted David's help standing.
"There we go," David said, wrapping an arm around Rick's waist. The man was so thin - it reminded him a lot of Daryl, when The Governor had been starving him. "Let's go."
With that, David led him off to the bathroom for a cold shower. Beth began to clean up, while Hershel quietly worried about how everything was going to play out.